The Persistence of Tomorrow

“C. S. Lewis”, 2025 Wood Engraving, 5.5 x 6 inches (sheet)

Several years back I started a wood engraving of the late, great, C. S. Lewis. As I reached the midway point the face in the sketch that I had transferred to the block, began rubbing off — yes, I was foolishly saving the most difficult part of the engraving for last. So, naturally, rather than dealing with the issue head on, I drug my feet as I contemplated whether to work with what was left of the sketch or to attempt to re-transfer his face to the block. Long story short, after a decent amount of finagling, I successfully re-transferred his face to the block and was able to finish the engraving just a week or two later.

The block was harvested and prepared for engraving from a downed holly tree that my wife's aunt was having removed. It, and a collection of other blocks, were then left to dry for around a year before I began work on the engraving. Preparing my own blocks for engraving has become a whole other story in and of itself.

The artwork for the engraving was a pencil drawing of C. S. Lewis that I completed back in 2022. He being one of my favorite authors and thinkers, it was a bit of a daunting project to try and capture his likeness in pencil, let alone as a line engraving. As always, there are plenty of things that I would adjust if I did it again but I was happy with the result nonetheless.

I finished this little book this morning and I’m still sitting in the quiet, letting it settle. It’s short enough to read in a couple of evenings, but deep enough to keep me thinking for weeks. Lewis writes as if he’s sitting across the kitchen table from me, coffee in hand, talking about prayer like it’s the most natural (and most mysterious) thing in the world. He doesn’t give formulas—he gives…